Wednesday, January 11, 2012

I just found this in a random internet search. Who knows if it's actually valid. As one would expect, several law firms have already jumped on the bandwagon and are urging potentially affected parents to join a class action lawsuit. I probably took a painkiller when I was pregnant with Olivia, but who knows if that was the cause of her ABS. Would joining a class action lawsuit to punish the companies that MIGHT be to blame bring her back? NO. Would it make me feel better about her death? NO. I've stopped asking for a reason and have now accepted the fact that she is gone, I can't bring her back, and it's not my fault that it happened. I look at my beautiful 9 month old son playing in his exersaucer, and it makes me happy for the child I have.

Rare birth defects tied to mom's painkiller use

URL of this page: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_119694.html (*this news item will not be available after 03/12/2012)

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Related MedlinePlus Pages

By Linda Thrasybule
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women who take over-the-counter painkillers during early pregnancy have a slightly higher risk of having babies with certain rare birth defects, according to a new study.

For instance, babies were three times as likely to be born with no eyes, or with abnormally small eyeballs that often cause blindness, if their mothers had taken aspirin or naproxen (sold as Aleve).

The babies' risk of amniotic band syndrome, a condition that causes various malformations such as clubfoot, was also three times higher among women who had used painkillers during their pregnancy.

It is not clear that the painkillers caused the deformities, however. And even if they did, the risks are minute.

"These are pretty rare birth defects, so the effect is small," said Dr. Eva Pressman, who studies maternal-fetal medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center but was not involved in the new work.

"A two-fold increase is still rare in the big picture," she told Reuters Health.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, these eye defects, called anophthalmia and microphthalmia, occur in one out of 5,300 births in the U.S. About one out of 10,000 babies are born with amniotic band syndrome.

The new findings, published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, are based on data from the National Birth Defects Prevention study.

In that study, women from across the U.S. were interviewed about the drugs they took during the first trimester of their pregnancy. For example, they were asked whether they used common painkillers -- also known as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or NSAIDs -- including aspirin, naproxen and ibuprofen (sold as Advil).

Researchers then compared the use of painkillers among 15,000 women whose babies had birth defects and 5,500 women whose babies were born without any deformities.

"Of the 29 different defects we examined, we were happy that a vast majority were not tied to NSAIDs," said study co-author Martha Werler, who studies birth defects at Boston University.

However, a few different types of birth defects were slightly increased in babies whose mothers reported taking ibuprofen, aspirin or naproxen.

For instance, the risk of cleft palate rose by 30 to 80 percent. And the risk of spina bifida, in which the spinal cord doesn't develop properly, jumped by 60 percent in babies whose mothers had used aspirin or ibuprofen.

While the results don't prove that painkillers are to blame, Werler said, they are a warning sign and warrant further research.

"Until we know more information, women should consult with their doctor to weigh risks and benefits of taking pain medication," Werler told Reuters Health.

Pressman said women who've taken NSAIDs during the first trimester of their pregnancy shouldn't worry. But to play it safe, she recommends avoiding that specific class of drugs while pregnant.

"For pain I recommend taking Tylenol, which works through a different mechanism of action, and is considered safe for pregnancy," she told Reuters Health.

2 comments:

Wow, I hadn't seen that report. I didn't take anything other than prenatal vitamins with Jacob and he still had ABS. I liked reading here how rare it is....it sucks that Jacob and Olivia got it, but at least it isn't something that is likely to recur.

About Me

In 2006 I married my best friend. In 2009 we decided to start our family and became pregnant in October. I gave birth to Olivia in March 2010, born still at 27 weeks due to amniotic band syndrome complications. We welcomed Noah, a gorgeous and healthy baby boy in March 2011. This is our journey from couple to family.